Summit League Extends Food Fight to League Basketball Tournament for Seventh-Straight Year

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For Immediate Release

Summit League Extends Food Fight to League Basketball Tournament for Seventh-Straight Year

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the seventh consecutive year, The Summit League is extending its “Food Fight” initiative to the league basketball championships Fan Fest, March 4-5, in Sioux Falls, S.D. Fans attending tournament games are invited to bring food to donate.

Food will be collected on Saturday and Sunday at Fan Fest from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Feeding South Dakota booth located in the main lobby of the Sioux Falls Arena. Feeding South Dakota will help facilitate the food drive and donations will go to the Sioux Falls Food Pantry. Fans are invited to make donations at the Feeding South Dakota table in the main lobby. Fans that bring at least three non-perishable food items or donate at least $5 at the Feeding South Dakota table get a chance to spin the prize wheel. Fans that donate at least $10 or bring in at least 10 non-perishable food items are eligible to enter a drawing to win two all-session tickets and two VIP passes to the 2018 Summit League Basketball Tournament at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

“Every year the Summit Basketball Tournament gets bigger, better and more exciting,” said Jennifer Stensaas of Feeding South Dakota. “We are very proud and honored that they have chosen Feeding South Dakota to support again this year while they are in Sioux Falls. Last year, Feeding South Dakota distributed over 13.5 million pounds of food and grocery items to over 350 hunger relief agencies throughout the state. Without organizations like The Summit League, we could not do what we do.”

The event, which marks the seventh year of its kind at The Summit League Basketball Championships, is an extension of the nine-year league-wide drive. This year, 18 “Food Fight” games were designated during the basketball season with each host school having exactly one week per game to collect food and/or cash donations. At the end of the Food Fight schedule, the school that raises the most amount of food, measured in pounds, is deemed the winner and awarded The Summit League Food Fight trophy.

South Dakota State was the 2015-16 winner, collecting more than 35,000 lbs. of food. The winner of the 2016-17 Food Fight trophy will be announced later this month after final totals are calculated.

In the program’s eight completed years, over 473,000 lbs. of food has been collected. South Dakota State has won five titles, including the last four, Oakland has two Food Fight titles, while Southern Utah earned one.

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ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
In its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 120,000 at nine institutions, including four located in top 60 U.S. metro populations and two land-grant universities. Member institutions include: Denver (University of Denver), Fort Wayne (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), North Dakota State University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), Oral Roberts University, the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced eight NCAA Champions along with over 75 Academic All-Americans, 65 All-America selections and numerous former student-athletes competing at the highest professional level. In 2014-15, The Summit League ranked first for NCAA Graduation Success Rate in women's basketball and second in baseball. For more information about the league and to "See The Summit", visit the newly re-designed www.thesummitleague.org website, follow Summit League Basketball on Twitter @summithoops and watch the weekly "Inside The Summit League" show at www.thesummitleague.org/itsl.

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My wife is working full-time and is going to school to earn her bachelor's degree in social work. A few months ago I quit my full-time job of eight years to take on a very part-time low-paying job so I could watch my kids while my wife is at work and at school. We do the best we can to keep up with life and the BackPack is immensely helpful.

Parent, BackPack Recipient

Making sure we eat healthy food is my biggest challenge. I really appreciate the produce we get here.

Judy, Partner Agency Guest

I just moved back to Sioux Falls with little money. Our car was stolen then trashed. We've been living in hotels and staying with friends. EBT only goes so far between all of us. These BackPacks have helped tremendously with our food situation. Thank you very much!

Parent, BackPack Recipient

We have a big family to feed. Besides our two children, I also have custody of my younger brother and sister. It means a lot to us to get a basket of food when we come here.

Adriana, Pantry Guest

I am a 27-year-old single mother of one girl. I am a full-time worker but I still struggle financially at times. I don't receive child support at all due to the father being incarcerated. This is the third year we've received a food bag and we greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

Parent, BackPack Recipient

I was living in my car when a police officer told me about Bishop Dudley House. Today, I don't take the fact that I have a warm place to sleep and a meal for granted.

Alfredo, Partner Agency Guest

We are a family of five living on a single income. We get some assistance from DSS, but it is not enough to feed our family for the whole month. The Food bags the kids bring home each Friday are an enormous help. These bags ensure the kids have enough to eat each week. It would be very difficult to stretch our food budget without the help of these food bags.

Parent, BackPack Recipient

I have a job as a supervisor at a fast food restaurant. Right now I'm on maternity leave, so I don't have a paycheck coming in. We're trying to get through a bad time financially and do get help with food stamps, but it's not enough to get us through. During times when food gets low, it means a lot to be able to come here and get food. Thank you!

Sage, Pantry Guest

A few days ago my mom came to the food pantry and volunteered. I was running low on food and she told me I should come down here and check it out. I was surprised by how much food I got! This place is awesome!

Brianna, Pantry Guest

I make too much to get food stamps, so when things get tight, I can come to the food pantry. The groceries I get there usually last about a week and help me get by.

Barb, Pantry Guest

It felt so good to go home with a basket of food and know my kids were happy. As a mother, that's all you care about. When you see your kids tearing through food you bring home, that's satisfaction.